HOMEBREW Digest #1329 Thu 20 January 1994
Digest #1328
Digest #1330
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Re: kegging beer in a keg that's held soda? (Emily Breed)
Ipswich (Kit Anderson)
Mailing List (Chris Riley)
definitions? (Jim Sims)
Immersion Heaters in Winter (Stephen P Klump)
brewart_1.hqx (George Tempel)
re: Louisiana Rig (btalk)
listproc (btalk)
wyeast belgian 3944(?) perf (George Tempel)
Re: insulin tests (TODD CARLSON)
intergalactic recipes ("JSDAWS1 at PROFSSR")
Fuggles? (VIALEGGIO)
Dry Hopping w/ pellets (JERRY MARR)
Lake Tahoe Breweries - South Side ("Roger Deschner ")
keg airlock ("Jeff M. Michalski, MD")
Extraction problems solved("somewhat") (Marc Hugentobler)
How Do I Add Airlock to Keg? (Thomas_Tills.Henr801h)
calculating potential alcohol from gravity (Troy Downing)
Re: calculation of specific gravity (Dion Hollenbeck)
Ion concentrations (Jay Lonner)
Re: How Do I Add Airlock to Keg? (Dion Hollenbeck)
AHA National Schedule (stevie)
Subscription ("Daniel P. O'Reilly")
Chimay yeast test (Aaron Birenboim)
Bottle Hop/ Porter Style / Air- In and Out (COYOTE)
flat brown ale (LLAPV)
Scottish Ale Yeast/ Lactose/primary heaters (Tom Goetze)
1994 HWBTA National Competition (Rick Garvin (703-761-6630))
HWBTA Style Guidelines, 3 of 3 (Rick Garvin (703-761-6630))
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 20:34:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Emily Breed <emilyb at netcom.com>
Subject: Re: kegging beer in a keg that's held soda?
Ken Miller writes (about kegging root beer):
> I haven't yet, but I've considered it. (Call me palatally challenged, but
> I love root beer almost as much as my favorite foamy beverage.) Seems to
> me there shouldn't be any problem--to a keg, one carbonated beverage is
> the same as another--but I offer one caveat: you may have to dedicate
> one (or more) kegs to soda exclusively. As I learned to my sorrow (can
> you say, "Mr. Pibbs Dunkel?"), once a keg has held soda, it is inclined
> to contribute unwelcome flavors to beer. (Unless you have one hell of a
> standard keg cleaning procedure.) Three-pin locks are functionally no
> different than ball-locks, assuming you have the proper connectors.
Wouldn't cleaning the keg thoroughly and then replacing the rubber/nylon/
what-have-you gaskets do the trick? I know that many brewers use old
soda-syrup kegs with only these precautions, and report good results.
One could even have one set of gaskets for beer and one for soda, and
swap them as needed.
And as for minimizing the delay in getting HBD postings out there, well,
enough of this converting friends from BudMillOb drinkers into
homebrewers... (It's only a joke! Save the flames for under the brewpots.)
Emily Breed emilyb at netcom.com
(who doesn't keg because she hardly has room to brew. Sigh.)
Return to table of contents
Date: 17 Jan 94 20:19:10 EST
From: Kit Anderson <72217.2600 at CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Ipswich
Jim Grady <grady at hpangrt.an.hp.com> asked about Ipswich Brewing yeast in
HB1321. I recently toured their facility with my brew club. They use WYeast
1056 and repitch several times before rebuilding from a single cell. Since
Chico mutates so easily, it has developed its own characteristics. Exactly
what those are, I am not sure of. It is still dry and clean.
This is an interesting company. Everbody has day jobs and they brew on
weekends. It is like a large homebrew operation. I liked their porter. I
think they call it a "dark ale".
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 09:45:32 -0500
From: Chris at acumen.ca (Chris Riley)
Subject: Mailing List
Please add me to your mailing list
CHRIS at ACUMEN.CA
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 08:49:23 EST
From: sims at pdesds1.scra.org (Jim Sims)
Subject: definitions?
Noting the rather odd definitions that appear to exist for alcoholic
beverages (esp in southern states), prompts me to ask for what the
_REAL_ definition is for:
BEER
WINE
MEAD
LIQUOR (sp?) - (you know - Bailey's, Grand Marnier, etc)
HARD LIQUOR (e.g. scotch, vodka, etc)
It seems to my uninformed self that:
BEER - made from malted grain
WINE - made from fermented fruit
MEAD - made from fermented honey
LIQUORS - distilled wines?
HARD LIQUOR - distilled anything, alcohol above X percent
I'm not interested in splitting hairs, but would like some reasonable
;-) working definitions of the above beverages.
I am NOT interested, for example, in the fact that Texas thinks that
any beer above 5% is an ale, South Carolina (my state) doesnt know
what a beer above 5% might be, etc.
tia,
jim
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 9:09:14 EST
From: Stephen P Klump <sklump at magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: Immersion Heaters in Winter
Hello All,
About a 1.5 years ago, I gave advise to a brewer from New Zealand about
keeping his brew at 65 deg F by using a water bath and fish tank heater.
This winter, I followed my own advise and then some...
For my ales, I have a fish tank heater attached to the side of a laundry
tub filled with water (and the primary frementer). It keeps very constant
temp. varying only 1-2 degrees.
For my lagers, I was having trouble with the refridgerator in the garage
keeping it WARM enough. (the temps have dropped below 0 for the past
couple of days..) So, I put another fish tank heater in a small bucket
of water, and the whole thing inside the fridge with the brew. It warmed
things nicely, and I am not so worried about stalled fermentation.
(Before I added this heating device, my fridge was about 32, good for
aging, but not for primary fermentation.)
these have been my experiences with immersion fish tank heaters.
I hope this helps the brewer who asked.
Cheers!
Stephen
Chemist for Hire | Decadence requires application!
Will Recrystalize for Food! | -R J Green
****************************| The average dog is nicer than
Klump.2 at osu.edu | the average person. -A Rooney
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 09:42:55 +0000 (U)
From: George Tempel <tempel at MONMOUTH-ETDL1.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: brewart_1.hqx
brewart_1.hqx
You may now download the brewing clipart collection
for macintosh from sierra.stanford.edu
pub/homebrew/docs/brewart_1.hqx
enjoy, and be sure to read the included file!
george
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 09:49:02 EST
From: btalk at aol.com
Subject: re: Louisiana Rig
I recently got a "King Cooker", a 170k btu propane single burner that works
GREAT! It has short legs, burner top about 20" high.
The brochure/catalog has large, Aluminum, pots available. Also recipes
including one for deep frying a whole Turkey.
Check CABELA'S catalog or some other hunting fishing outdoor type mailorder
place. Some homebrew shops are carrying this type of cooker.
Gook Luck. Bob Talkiewicz
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 10:04:57 EST
From: btalk at aol.com
Subject: listproc
I need some help trying to get the yeast .faq form the list processor.(via
email, no ftp capability)
Being somewhat computer(or maybe DOS command) illiterate, all I get is 'error
condition;invalid request' messages.
Can someone explain the get<archive><file> command to me.
I assume that yeast.faq is the file and am not sure what the archive and or
path is.
Thanks. Bob Talkiewicz
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 10:23:45 +0000 (U)
From: George Tempel <tempel at MONMOUTH-ETDL1.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: wyeast belgian 3944(?) perf
wyeast belgian 3944(?) perf.
Has anyone out there used the wyeast belgian wit yeast #3944, i think...?
Since it doesn't have a self-contained starter, I had to make my first
attempt at a yeast starter:
just under 1/2 cup light DME
just under 1 qt water
1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
boiled for 15 min, cooled, moved to 22oz brown longneck, pitched
and fitted w/airlock.
The yeast has taken a few days before making the airlock bubble,
but the airlock _has_ been under pressure (the two chambers have
unequal water levels). Have I done this right? Should plan to brew
my batch when the yeast is foaming, or just bubbling? Does this
yeast like to take a long time, or is it a quick and rowdy
fermenter like the #3056 Weizen dual-yeast?
thanks in advance
george
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 11:20:06 EST
From: carlsont at GVSU.EDU (TODD CARLSON)
Subject: Re: insulin tests
Mr. Raytrace asked about using insulin test strips for
testing priming sugar concentration. I have not used these
for beer making but we do use them in my undergraduate
biochemistry lab. Here is some of the chemistry involved.
We use the Diastix test strips for glucose in urine by AMES.
These are a glucose oxidase based test which means that they
will be specific for glucose (aka dextrose/corn sugar). As
I recall there are also glucose blood test strips which are
much more expensive and urine test strips that are based on
the Benedict's test (look for CuSO4 in the reagent list). A
Benedict's test is not specific for glucose but will react
with other reducing sugars which includes just about
anything except sucrose (aka table/cane/beet sugar). Since
fermented beer will contain some unfermented detxtrins,
these would interfere with a Benedict's based test. However
since a Glucose Oxidase baseed test is specific for glucose,
Priming with anything except glucose (DME, honey, high
fructose corn syrup, sucrose) would also give poor results.
To do the test, you just dip the end of the platic strip in
the test solution (beer), wait 30 seconds, and match the
color of the strip with the color key on the bottle. The
color key is in the range of 100 mg/dL to 2000 mg/dL.
Fortunately for home brewers, the standard 3/4 cup of
glucose/5 gal of beer converts to 145,000 mg/189 dL or 767
mg/dL -- right in the middle of the scale provided!
Now the bad news. Since you have to match (by eye) a color
key your uncertainty in the measurement will be at least
plus or minus 10%. You can measure 3/4 cup glucose
measurement will be more precise than this so the test strip
probably won't provide any useful information. You could
use a digital blood monitor for $$$$$$ but I suspect that
the variability in beer, yeast, O2, temperature, etc is much
more significant than the vaiablity in priming sugar
concentration.
Hope this helps
todd
carlsont at gvsu.edu
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Date: 18 Jan 1994 08:38:08 PST
From: "JSDAWS1 at PROFSSR" <JSDAWS1 at PB1.PacBell.COM>
Subject: intergalactic recipes
All the recent comment surrounding Pangalactic Gargleblasters reminded me that,
last winter I made a serious attempt at Romulan Ale. This 'beverage' was
consumed at the San Andreas Malts' annual oyster BBQ. I also entered it into
the AHA regionals... with some amusing results.
I made a BIG beer... with about 10 lbs 2-row, 1 lb carapils, 1 lb munbich, and
2 bls rice syrup. I asumed that the rice syrup would help me get a lighter
colored beer. At kegging/bottling time I added blue food coloring.
The beer strated out golden, and ended up deep aqua-green with an irridescent
easter-egg blue head. But it was NOT the clear blue beverage I've seen Star
Fleet officers consume !
Any alternate recipes... ? How can I make the lightest colored beer possible
or am I doomed to failure at turning a golden beverage blue ? Did the munich
and carapils signigficantly darken the brew ? how about a higher % of rice.
Live long and prosper... and may the farce be with you :)
| roadkill on the information super-highway |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| JACK DAWSON - JSDAWS1 - 415 545-0299 - CUSTOMER BILLING (BG) |
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 12:21:33 -0500 (EST)
From: VIALEGGIO at ccmail.sunysb.edu
Subject: Fuggles?
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY 11794-5475
Victor Ialeggio
Music
516 632-7239
18-Jan-1994 12:19pm EDT
FROM: VIALEGGIO
TO: Remote Addressee ( _homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com )
Subject: Fuggles?
Hello. Anyone have a source for whole-leaf Fuggles? Bullion also, while I'm
thinking of it.
Thanks.Victor Ialeggio
vialeggio at ccmail.sunysb.edu
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 13:56:33 EST
From: JERRY MARR <"disney::marr" at hq.cortex.prospect.com>
Subject: Dry Hopping w/ pellets
Does anybody have experience dry hopping with pellets? What is the best
way to ensure maximum aroma while minimizing filtering requirements?
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 11:57:13 CST
From: "Roger Deschner " <U52983%UICVM at UIC.EDU>
Subject: Lake Tahoe Breweries - South Side
I was at South Lake Tahoe a year ago, and there was a new startup brewpub
with the highly original name of "The Brewery" or something like that.
They were only on about their 7th batch, made from extract, and were
fighting infection problems at the time. Even if not infected, the
extract formulation made the beer nothing special, so after a couple
there I went back to the superlative Sierra Nevada and Anchor products
available on tap elsewhere. It's on the south side of US-50 on the
California side of the state line, inside the town of South Lake Tahoe.
It seemed that all the beers made "up there" in the Tahoe/Truckee/Donner
Pass area ranged from mediocre to downright bad. But that was a year ago
and things hopefully have changed for the better; I'm scheduled back
there to ski again this year.
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 13:38:04 -0500
From: "Jeff M. Michalski, MD" <michalski_jm at rophys.wustl.edu>
Subject: keg airlock
Re: airlock on keg. No size cork that can fit in the
gas-in stem will also accomodate the usual plastic airlock.
However, a rubber cork can fit OVER the threads and
accomodate the airlock above it. This is a cheap way to
to use the ss keg for fermentation at atmospheric pressure.
JEFF M. MICHALSKI
michalski_jm at rophys.wustl.edu
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 09:55 -0600 (MDT)
From: Marc Hugentobler <MARHUG at TELECOM.USU.EDU>
Subject: Extraction problems solved("somewhat")
Hola,
I guess from the lack of response I got, I either didn't include enuf info on
the problems I was having or no one knew the answer. No problemo, though I
think I solved the problem. As you will recall I was having problems with my
extraction from the mash.
This weekend I set out to make an oatmeal stout. I knew It would need more
body than my crappy extraction could provide. The problem had to be solved!
The first thing I did was to grind the grains finer. Mind you, I am not
making flour, I just say, cracked the individual grains into 11 peices versus
6. I have to battle my paranoid fear of cracking the grains too fine and
having a poor grain bed filter. The next thing I altered (being a steadfast
non-or quasi-empiricist) was to make a sprinkling system out of an old
mondo-beverage plastic cup. As you might also recall I was using a
Zapap-lauter tun(fashioned ala papaizan) to sparge my grains.
And Voile, I ended up with an OG of about 1.046 not painfully high but in the
range I needed for my stout. Which incidentally smelled so tasty I had to
practice great reserve to keep from swillin' the whole wort right then and
there.
Anyhew, just wanted to post this in case anyone else out there in brewspace
was having the same problems.;-)
Adios amigos
Marc
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 12:03:19 PST
From: Thomas_Tills.Henr801h at xerox.com
Subject: How Do I Add Airlock to Keg?
>I want to conduct secondary fermentation in my stainless steel
>Cornelius Kegs (Ball type). Has someone out there come up with a
>nifty way to install an airlock?
Why not use the tap connector on the serving side, remove the hose to the tap
and put a stopper about halfway on that metal thing that slips into the hose,
into the other half of the stopper, put the airlock in. It'll probably be on
an angle, but it should work.
TNT
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 15:33:04 EST
From: downing at GRAPHICS.CS.NYU.EDU (Troy Downing)
Subject: calculating potential alcohol from gravity
I'm looking for a formula with which I can derive the potential
alcohol or sugar content of my wort given the specific gravity.
for example: 1.056 * xyz = 7% potential alc by volume. (or whatever
the math turns out to be....)
Thanks!
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Troy Downing (212) 998-5753 (voice) |
| New York University (212) 995-4320 (FAX) |
| 34 Stuyvesant Street, 3rd Floor |
| New York, NY 10003 downing at cs.nyu.edu |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 12:14:59 PST
From: hollen at megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck)
Subject: Re: calculation of specific gravity
>>>>> "Mike" == 708 <Michael> writes:
Mike> I am looking for charts, tables, etc. on how to calculate
Mike> specific gravity for different combinations of malt extract,
Mike> spray dried malt, specialty grains, adjuncts, batch size,
Mike> etc. For example, if I brew an X gallon batch with Y lbs of malt
Mike> extract, Z lbs spray dried malt and W lbs of 2 kinds of
Mike> specialty grains how does one calculate what the specific
Mike> gravity SHOULD be. Does anybody know of any good references that
Mike> could provide this? TNCJOHB gives a VERY limited discussion of
Mike> this in one of the appendices but it is not sufficient for most
Mike> cases.
Mike> TIA and brew on my friends!
Mike> Mike Hansen (HANSENMD at RANDB.ABBOTT.COM)
Brewer's Calculator for Windows 3.1 does this and more. It is only
$39. The author can be reached at b_regent at holonet.net. It is not
only an excellent calculator, but lets you keep track of oodles of
things relating to each batch in a format which can be printed out on
a single page of paper for putting in a notebook. Changing recipe
contents and seeing the changing resulting gravity changes immediately
sure is nice. Lets you take into account how good your extraction
rates are and apply that as a percentage to "standard book" extraction
rates for different grains, or change the extraction rate for a
particular grain as you choose. It also calculates bitterness based
on AA content, quantity and addition time. All in all this is an
excellent program and I am hooked on it for my needs. I hate Windows
and I went out and got Windows just so I could use BC.
I have no financial affilitation with the author, just an enormously
large respect for his excellent product and support.
dion
Dion Hollenbeck (619)455-5590x2814 Email: hollen at megatek.com
Staff Software Engineer megatek!hollen at uunet.uu.net
Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California ucsd!megatek!hollen
Return to table of contents
Date: 18 Jan 1994 13:10:30 -0800 (PST)
From: Jay Lonner <8635660 at NESSIE.CC.WWU.EDU>
Subject: Ion concentrations
Hello,
I'm going to be brewing up a batch of Papazian's "Toad Spit Stout" pretty soon
and I have a question about the 8 teaspoons of gypsum he says to add to the
wort. According to Miller, that would raise calcium to about 480 ppm, and the
sulfate level to 1120 ppm. That seems awfully high.
My tap water is very soft but has a relatively low pH (5.4 or so, according to
the lab). I wonder if adding so much calcium would make the water too acidic.
Or is it not even worth it for an extract brewer to "worry" about that sort of
thing?
Anyway, I'm thinking of just adding 4 teaspoons of gypsum on brewday, just to
play it safe. Think I'll be OK?
Thanks,
Jay.
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 12:25:33 PST
From: hollen at megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck)
Subject: Re: How Do I Add Airlock to Keg?
>>>>> "Phil" == Phil Brushaber <phil.brushaber at lunatic.com> writes:
Phil> I want to conduct secondary fermentation in my stainless steel
Phil> Cornelius Kegs (Ball type). Has someone out there come up with a
Phil> nifty way to install an airlock?
Remove the gas in valve. Set it on the floor and push down on the
poppet with a philips screwdriver. It will fall out the bottom.
Re-install teh empty valve body on the keg. Get a 2" length of 5/8"
diameter clear plastic hose and put it over the valve body. Insert
your normal cork and airlock in the top of the piece of hose. If you
want to do primary fermentation in SS as I do, just replace the short
piece of hose with 4 feet of hose and put the end in a bucket with 3"
of sanitizing solution and use it as an airlock. Works wonderfully.
Dion Hollenbeck (619)455-5590x2814 Email: hollen at megatek.com
Staff Software Engineer megatek!hollen at uunet.uu.net
Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California ucsd!megatek!hollen
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 16:27:07 CST
From: stevie at spss.com
Subject: AHA National Schedule
In HBD 1325, Spencer Thomas writes:
>I want to know what the nice folks at the AHA were thinking about when
>they set up the schedule for this year's National. Not only are the
>beers due on Income Tax Day, but the first round judging (at least at
>Chicago) is on Mothers Day weekend. This really makes it unpopular at
>home. I mean, I get enough flack as it is.
>
>Would it have been so hard to move it a week one way or the other?
I can't speak for the folks in Boulder, but can for the Chicago organizers.
The entry deadlines were established by AHA in Boulder. Once set, the regional
organizers have a window of a few weeks to try and get the 1st round complete.
We all try to coordinate so we judge within the same period. Then we also have
to deal with logistical issues like space and location.
In Chicago, we were immediately constrained because the local sponsor of our
regional, Goose Island Brewing, could not provide ANY space for us on ANY
weekend (Friday night through Saturday night) in April or May. We were forced
to find an alternate location (we will be at Cavanaugh's, a Loop bar/restaurant
that is closed on weekends). In addition, we did not want to conflict with
the judging in our neighboring region, the Southeast, which is at fairly
close-by Oldenberg Brewery just south of Cincinnati. They are locked in for
the weekend of April 30, and were concerned that they might lose some judges
to us if we were on the same weekend. At least now, you have your pick --
Oldenberg on one weekend, Chicago the next. We ain't exactly thrilled with
our date, but it was about the best we could do under the circumstances.
As for the deadline, remember that entries will be accepted anywhere from the
4th through the 15th. So, you can still wait until the last minute on your
taxes and not have to sweat it with your beers. :-)
+------------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
| Steve Hamburg | Internet: stevie at spss.com | "Life is short, and so |
| SPSS Inc. | Phone: 312/329-3445 | are some brewers." |
| Chicago, IL | Fax: 312/329-3657 | |
+------------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
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Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 16:36:59 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Daniel P. O'Reilly" <daniel at bluejay.creighton.edu>
Subject: Subscription
The list that I got your address off of did not specify how to subscribe.
Here's my best attempt.
SUB Daniel P. O'Reilly
I'm new at this "internet" game, so whoever receives this message, please
be kind and overlook my ignorance. Thanks.
Dan
SD Daniel Patrick O'Reilly
________________ Creighton University
| \_ IA 25th and California St.
WY | \ Omaha, NE 68178-0046
|____ *|<---- I am here, livin'
| | in the big "O"!?!
CO |_______________\ MO (402) 280-2625
KS daniel at creighton.edu
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Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 15:41:37 MST
From: abirenbo at redwood.hac.com (Aaron Birenboim)
Subject: Chimay yeast test
I'm culturing from Chimay Red for some belgian ale. I tasted
some of the media.. which was S.G. 1.020. I know this is thin,
but I tasted anyway. It was winey with little aroma. Is this OK?
I cultured Chimay once before (but i did not brew with it), and the
culture did exhibit some of those spicy characteristics which are absent
from this culture. There are many reasons why this might be
(higher O.G. culture media, warmer ferment...) I just want to know
If I should try again before wasting a batch.
aaron
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Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 14:00:46 -0600 (MDT)
From: COYOTE <SLK6P at cc.usu.edu>
Subject: Bottle Hop/ Porter Style / Air- In and Out
***
Alan made a followup to the idea of :
| dry hopping. He mentioned that it might be interesting to
| try bottle hopping--that is, adding hops (one or two leaves,
| perhaps) directly to the bottle. ^^^^^^
...Alan tried this, he said...
I did this by adding one (or more) fresh willamette cones from my garden.
It's my opinion that one or two leaves won't do anything noticable.
^^^^^^
...created a unique problem. The hops act as a nucleation site for the CO2
coming out of solution. This makes the bottle foam immediately...
... I can see the bubbles forming all around the hop cone;
- ---
Ok ok ok. I tried to hold myself back, but it didn't work.
Now boys (er, um...men- brew-people...) : HOPS ARE FLOWERS!
I'm sure Alan really does know this. He grew em (what kinds?).
Flowers have PETALS. These are often mistakenly called LEAVES,
a better- but still imprecise term used - is FLAKES. They should be
cones, but by the time they have been shipped/repackaged and all
they are looking pretty flaky. You can separate the petals from the
cones, but what you really need are the lupulin crystals (yellow)
located at the inner-base of each petal.
I'd think making a quick tea with the fresh hops and adding that at
bottling would be sufficient, and avoid the nucleation problem.
There are different kinds of extracts available. Alpha Hops in Renton,WA
has the best selection of these I've come across. (206)227-6073. No connexn.
I'm waiting on my first order, and thought I'd give em a plug (NyuckNycuk).
Or just do a late-dry hop of the carboy- a day before bottling,
then you can filter them out.
Odd occurence. I didn't have that problem with the Jalapenos I added
to my pepper beers. :-^) Maybe they just don't nucleate like leaves.
***
Norm had some things to say about PORTERS.
I think Ken Miller made a good followup. Glad he got on it, my Porter
book is out on loan, and I hadn't memorized that passage yet. :) Ta.
Norm...it is my personal contention that porters can generally be
considered a bit lighter in body that stouts. Some stouts may well
overlap. In MY Coyote (no tm!) brewery, a stout can bairly show light
through. While porters will reveal a deep red-brown hue. My porters may
be very roasty, but not "scorched/bitter". They may have some sweetness,
(not 2 much) occasionally brown sugar has fallen into the brewpot.
My stouts will vary from dry to sweet- depending on many factors. They
generally are a bit less hoppy than the porters. The stouts can be
"creamy/smooth" while the porters are "cleaner, sharper". It's hard
to describe, but I know when I've got it right (i.e., the way I like it:)
Now I don't know how to make the real "exact/precise/consice" distinction.
I just have my own feelings/experiences/brews to consider. Plus a few
commercial samplings. But who's to say those are "right". It is a revival!
I do remember a long-heated debate SOME time back re: which does and
doesn't belong in porter: Roast, or Black Patent malts.
I don't remember the exact outcome. I thought Terry went for roast???
What do you read Ken? I know he doesn't "like" sugars, but knows
they fall into lots of British brews (his Pale ale book mentions this-
that one's on "borrow" from a friend)
***
>From: "Steven E. Matkoski" <sematkos at syr.edu>
Subject: When to air and not to air.
>I have been seeing alot of talk about aerating the wort and the beer. I
am still a little confused on this. When I brew I try not to aerate at
anytime in my process. Is this wrong to do? If so, then when do I aerate
and when don't I?
- ---
* Ok Brief summary here. Both extract and mashed. Which are you?
# Minimize aeration once solutions are warmed (mash in, out, sparge)
Due to danger of HSA (hot side aeration) which affects aging.
# While wort is hot. During/after boil. Stir, don't splash.
Dangers of HSA, and oxidation reactions. Faster rxns at hot temps.
# Cool wort after boil. Once cooled- AERATE. before, during, or after
racking into primary. Pitch yeast. Ferment.
# Once fermentation has become active, DO NOT AERATE. During racking
to secondaries, or bottling/kegging processes.
Oxidation of fermentation products can occur. Alcohol+ is reactive.
# Avoid oxidation of kegged beer. Purge headspace w/ CO2 before mixing.
Bottled beer can oxidize. Special caps, high fill, fill-rest-cap procds.
Note: Yeast need air, but only at the beginning. Then avoid it.
Keep air out of any of the hot solutions. < Cooling is hip! >
>Also, I have only been single fermenting (out of fermenting bucket and
into bottling bucket), and I have been noticing a yeasty aftertaste on
most of my Ales. If I change to using a secondary fermenter will this
lighten the aftertaste? or does time? The aftertaste does mellow with
time, but takes a very long time. Thanks for your help!
* Couple question/ couple answers.
Do you use a racking cane, with the little orange cap-thingy on the end?
You can make a point of racking from ABOVE the sludge, and losing a
LITTLE beer and reduce sediment/yeast flavors in finished beer.
IMO A secondary will benefit -additional clearing, removal of early
products (waste) and break material passed from boil and improve the
flavor of beer overall. If you are aging a beer in the fermenter
for any period of time (>week) you should rack away from the primary
trub. You could set up a second bucket, but I'd recommed a glass
carboy. What kind of primary do you have? I sometimes use 5 gal.
buckets with a tap at the bottom (siphonless) raised above the trub level.
Anyway Brew on!.
/* To err is human, to brew is divine. Random thoughts of the universe. *\
/------_______ John (The Coyote) Wyllie SLK6P at cc.usu.edu _______--------\
\ * Tomorrow I turn "almost thirty". 'Scuse to Celebrate?...Me?! * /
Return to table of contents
Date: Tuesday, 18 January 94 16:43:09 CST
From: LLAPV at utxdp.dp.utexas.edu
Subject: flat brown ale
Help!!!
This weekend, I opened a bottle of brown ale my brother & I bottled 3 weeks
previous, and it was flat. Not a bubble. Still. Very sad.
We know we primed it (2/3 c. of corn sugar, as I recall). Also, another bottle
proved flat, & my new Party Pig I received for Christmas if full of flat beer
(except for a tad, very slight carbonation that I theorize is forced). We
think what happened is that there was no viable yeast (Wyeast American Ale)
at bottling time. What we plan to do this weekend is siphon off the bottles
& the Party Pig into our handy plastic bucket & repitch with some fresh yeast
that's going in a starter, then rebottling. Any suggestions? Warnings?
Anybody out there done this before?
Thanks, & Happy brewing,
Alan of Austin
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 1994 14:59:27 -0800
From: goetze at cats.ucsc.edu (Tom Goetze)
Subject: Scottish Ale Yeast/ Lactose/primary heaters
First two questions (for which e-mail replies are requested):
1. Anybody out there used Wyeast's Scottish Ale Yeast? What temperature?
What kind of results did you get? Comments are appreciated.
2. Anybody use lactose (milk sugar)? Do you add it during the boil or
just at bottling? Or does it matter? Also what amounts are suggested
I have dry lactose)?
In regards to David Tetenbaum's request about heaters for primary
fermentation, I recall someone posting a while ago (sorry, I don't
remember who) a potentially good idea for keeping primary fermentation
at ideal temperatures. The idea was to get a large enough "bucket" to
place your carboy in and surround it with water. Then get an aquarium
heater designed to heat as much water in the bucket and the amount in
your carboy and let the heater do it's thing.
I'm planning on trying this very soon. Hope it helps.
e-mail replies would be appreciated since I only get to the net in
my free time.
Thanks in advance,
tom
goetze at cats.ucsc.edu
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 94 10:15:23 EST
From: rgarvin at btg.com (Rick Garvin (703-761-6630))
Subject: 1994 HWBTA National Competition
Most of this bounced on hbd. Here is another try:
- -----------------------------------------------------------
The HWBTA National Homwbrew Competition is accepting entries at your
local HWBTA member this month (January). Below is the information that
was sent out to HWBTA members.
I will be following this message with the entry for and the style
definitions in three parts. The full package will also be available
on sierra.stanford.edu in /pub/incoming/hwbta.tar and
/pub/incoming/hwbta.zip
Cheers, Rick Garvin
HWBTA National Homebrew Competition Judge Coordinator
rgarvin at btg.com, 703-761-6630
- -----------------------------------------------------------
Home Wine And Beer Trade Association (HWBTA)
1994 National Homebrew Competition
March 5-6, 1994
General Information For HWBTA Members & Competitors
Competition Organizer:
Reuben & Judi Rudd
Brew Masters, Ltd.
12266 Wilkins Avenue
Rockville, Md 20852
(301) 984-9557
Fax: (301) 881-92501
1. ELIGIBILITY - The competition is open to all. We ask only that
you submit your entry through an HWBTA member retailer. They will
not pay your entry fees but they will assist you with the forms
and the requirements and they will be mailed your score sheets and
awards to pass on to you.
2. ENTRY FEE - Each entry will be $5.00 - checks should be made
payable to Brew Masters, Ltd./HWBTA Competition
3. LIMITATIONS - Commercial beers or those brewed at a commercial
establishment are ineligible. Judges may not judge a category or
subcategory they have entered. The 25 style categories will be
maintained if there are more than 6 entries per category; if fewer
than 6 entries per category are received, they will be combined
with a similar style for judging. Entries will be disqualified
for rules infractions.
4. JUDGING - Each entry will be judged by a panel of three
qualified (BJCP) and experienced judges, supervised by Rick Garvin
(AHA/HWBTA Certified Beer Judge), who has agreed to serve as the
Competition's Director of Judges. The Competition Organizer will
administer the competition in accord with the guidelines
established by the HWBTA and the AHA, but reserves the right to
make all final decisions regarding entry eligibility and
competition procedures. All scores awarded by the judges are
final.
5. AWARDS - Each category will be awarded a first place, second
place, and third place ribbon sponsored by the HWBTA. In addition,
the first place winner will also receive an engraved pewter mug as
sponsored by various HWBTA members identified by category in the
Style Guidelines. All first place winners will be included in the
judging for the Best of Show competition. The runner-up in the
Best of Show (award sponsored by Distrivin, Ltd.) and the winner
of the Best of Show (award sponsored by HWBTA) will each receive
a German-style beer stein. Contest results will be announced
immediately. The results will be formally announced at the June
1994 HWBTA Conference in Brighton, England.
6. ENTRY SPECIFICATIONS - Each entry will consist of 3 bottles,
10- to 16-oz. in size, green or brown glass, free of labels or any
identifying marks (raised glass bottles or Grolsch-type bottles
are not acceptable), crown caps must have all printing blacked
out. It is very important that anonymity be maintained for the
judging and any deviation from these specifications will cause
your entry to be disqualified. All entries become the property of
the HWBTA and will not be returned if received late or for any
other reason.
7. ENTRY FORMS - It is the competitor's responsibility to complete
all required registration and recipe forms, enclose the proper
fee(s) and designate the category and subcategory in which you
wish your entry to be judged. The HWBTA Competition organizers
will not categorize entries.
8. RECIPES - By entering this Competition you agree to allow the
HWBTA to publish your recipe in any manner. You will be given due
credit, but no remuneration.
9. DEADLINES - Entries will be accepted from January 3, 1994 until
January 31, 1994. All entries must be well packed to avoid
breakage. It is illegal to ship alcoholic beverages via US Mail;
however, UPS, RPS, Federal Express will ship your entry--It is not
against BATF regulations to ship for "analytical purposes." Mark
the package clearly with "Glass--Fragile-- This Side UP" and
follow the guidelines in the Spring 1991 zymurgy for good advice
on packing. All entries should be sent to the Competition
Organizer.
GOOD LUCK!!
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 94 10:17:01 EST
From: rgarvin at btg.com (Rick Garvin (703-761-6630))
Subject: HWBTA Style Guidelines, 3 of 3
Home Wine and Beer Trade Association (HWBTA)
1994 National Homebrew Competition
Style Guidelines Part 3 of 3
Part 1) Ales
Part 2) Lagers
Part 3) Mixed, Meads, Sponsors
Mixed Style (Ale/Lager)
18. GERMAN-STYLE ALE (award sponsored by CROSBY & BAKER, LTD.,
WESTPORT, MA)
a. ALTBIER DUSSELDORF-STYLE - Copper to dark brown. Medium to high
bitterness. Very low hop flavor. No hop aroma. Light to medium
body. Low fruitiness and esters. Traditionally fermented warm but
aged at cold temperatures. Very low diacetyl OK. OG 1.044-1.048
IBU 25-35 SRM 11-19.
b. KOLSCH - Pale Gold. Low hop flavor and aroma. Medium
bitterness. Light to medium body. Slightly dry, winy palate.
Malted wheat OK. Lager or ale yeast or combination of yeasts OK.
OG 1.042-1.046 IBU 20-30 SRM 3.5-5.
c. CREAM ALE/LAGER - Very pale. Effervescent. Light body. Low to
medium bitterness. Low hop flavor or aroma OK. Low
fruitiness/ester OK. Can use ale or lager yeasts or combination.
OG 1.044-1.055 IBU 10-22 SRM 2-4.
19. FRUIT BEER (award sponsored by NAPA FERMENTATION SUPPLY, NAPA,
CA)
a. Any ale or lager made with fruit. Charactr of fruit should be
evident in color, aroma and flavor. Body, color, hop character and
strength can vary greatly. OG 1.030-1.110 BU 5-70 SRM 5-50.
20. HERB BEER (award sponsored by R & R HOME FERMENTATION SUPPLY,
SACRAMENTO, CA)
a. Any ale or lager made with herbs or spices. Character of herb
or spice should be evident in aroma and flavor. Body, color, hop
character and strength can vary greatly. OG 1.030-1.110 IBU 5-
70 SRM 5-50.
21. SPECIALTY BEER (award sponsored by BRISTOL BREWHOUSE,
MILWAUKEE, WI)
a. Any ale or lager brewed using unusual techniques and/or
fermentable ingredients other than or in addition to malted barley
as a unique contribution to the overall character of the beer.
Examples include, but are not limited to, the use of honey and
maple sap or syrup or heating the wort with white hot stones.
Examples do not include fruits or herbs, although they may be used
to add to the character of other uniquely fermentable ingredients.
OG 1.030-1.110 IBU 0-100 SRM 0-100.
22. SMOKED BEER (award sponsored by VALLEY HOPS & MALTS, CHERRY
VALLEY, MA)
a. Any ale or lager brewed with smoke flavor. OG, IBU, and SRM
should correspond to designated beer style.
23. CALIFORNIA COMMON BEER (award sponsored by DLB VINEYARDS,
INC., WESTLAKE, OH)
a. Light amber to copper. Medium body. Toasted or caramel-like
maltiness in aroma and flavor. Medium to high hop bitterness. Hop
flavor medium to high. Aroma medium. Fruitiness and esters low.
Low diacetyl OK. Lager yeast, fermented warm but aged cold. OG.
1.040-1.055 IBU 35-45 SRM 8-17.
24. WHEAT BEER (award sponsored by BREW MASTERS, LTD., ROCKVILLE,
MD)
a. BERLINER-WEISSE - Pale. Light body. Dry. Sharp lactic sourness.
Fruity/estery. Between 60 and 70% malted wheat. Very low
bitterness. No hop flavor or aroma. Effervescent. No diacetyl. OG
1.028-1.032 IBU 3-6 SRM 2-4.
b. GERMAN-STYLE WEIZEN/WEISSBIER - Pale to golden. Light to medium
body. About 50% wheat malt. Clove and slight banana character.
Fruity/estery. Clove, vanilla, nutmeg, smoke and cinnamon-like
phenolics OK. Mild sourness OK. Highly effervescent. Cloudiness
OK. Low bitterness. Low hop flavor and aroma OK. No diacetyl. OG
1.048-1.056 IBU 10-15 SRM 3-9.
c. GERMAN-STYLE DUNKELWEIZEN - Deep copper to brown. Dark version
of Weizen but with chocolate-like maltiness evident. OG 1.048-
1.056 IBU 10-15 SRM 17-22.
d. GERMAN-STYLE WEIZENBOCK - Usually deep copper to dark brown,
but light versions can be amber to copper. Medium to full body.
Alcoholic strength evident. Maltiness high. Low bitterness. Hop
flavor and aroma absent. Banana and clove character apparent. Low
diacetyl OK. OG 1.066-1.080 IBU 10-20 SRM 7-30.
25. MEAD (see Note below) (award sponsored by MAYER'S CIDER MILL,
INC., WEBSTER, NY)
a. SPARKLING - Effervescent. Dry, medium or sweet (designate on
entry form). Light to medium body. Honey character in aroma and
flavor. Low to fruity acidity. Color depends on honey type.
Absence of harsh and stale character. OG 1.050-1.090 IBU 0 SRM 0-
4.
b. STILL - No effervescence. Dry, medium, sweet or very sweet
(designate on entry form). Light to full body. Honey character
in aroma and flavor. Low to fruity acidity. Absence of harsh and
stale character. OG 1.090-1.140 IBU 0 SRM 0-5.
NOTE: Melomel (fruit mead), Cyser (apple juice mead), Pyment
(grape mead), and Metheglin (herb and spice mead) are to be
entered in the appropriate sparkling or still subcategories above.
ABBREVIATIONS:
OG (Original Gravity)
IBU (International Bittering Units)
SRM (Standard Reference Method for color)
Category Award Sponsors (Alphabetical):
BEVERAGE PEOPLE (THE), Santa Rosa, CA - Category 11 - BOCK
BREW AMERICA, Vienna, VA - Category 9 - ENGLISH & SCOTTISH STRONG
ALE
BREW BY YOU (THE), Shelton, WA - Category 7 - SCOTTISH ALE
BREW MASTERS, Ltd., Rockville, MD - Category 24 - WHEAT BEER
BRISTOL BREWHOUSE, Milwaukee, WI - Category 21 - SPECIALTY BEER
CARLSON, L.D., CO., Kent, OH - Category 4 - ENGLISH-STYLE PALE ALE
CELLAR (THE), Seattle, WA - Category 3 - BROWN ALE
CHASE INSTRUMENTS, College Point, NY - Category 5 - AMERICAN STYLE
ALE
CONSOLIDATED BEVERAGES/COOPERS, Medina, WA - Category 12 -
BAVARIAN DARK
CROSBY & BAKER, LTD., Westport, MA - Category 18 - GERMAN-STYLE
ALE
DISTRIVIN, LTD., Longuevil, Quebec, Canada - BEST of SHOW RUNNER-
UP
DLB VINEYARDS, INC., Westlake, OH - Category 23 - CALIFORNIA
COMMON
E-Z CAP BOTTLE DISTRIBUTORS, Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Category 8
- PORTER
EDME LIMITED, Essex, England - Category 1 - BARLEY WINE
FERMENTATION FRENZY, Los Altos, CA - Category 17 -
VIENNA/OKTOBERFEST/MARZEN
JONMER, LTD., Foster City, CA - Category 14 - MUNICH HELLES
KENT, G.W., LTD., Ann Arbor, MI - Category 6 - ENGLISH BITTER
LIL BROWN JUG, Tacoma, WA - Category 13 - DORTMUND/EXPORT
MARKET BASKET (THE), Brookfield, WI - Category 16 - AMERICAN LAGER
MAYER'S CIDER MILL, Webster, NY - Category 25 - MEAD
NAPA FERMENTATION SUPPLY, Napa, CA - Category 19 - FRUIT BEER
R & R HOME FERMENTATION SUPPLY, Sacramento, CA - Category 20 -
HERB BEER
RENO HOMEBREWER (THE), Reno, NV - Category 15 - CLASSIC PILSNER
STEINBART, F.H., CO., Portland, OR - Category 10 - STOUT
VALLEY HOPS & MALTS, Cherry Valley, MA - Category 22 - SMOKED BEER
VANBERG & DeWULF, Cooperstown, NY - Category 2 - BELGIAN STYLE
Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1329, 01/20/94